Concrete-mixer.



E. G. CUMMINGS. CONCRETE MIXER. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 2a, 1913.

1,096,154, Patented May 12, 1914.

COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH 50., WASHINGTON. D. c-v

@FFEQ EDGAR C. CUMMINGS, OF WATERLOO, IOWA.

CONCRETE-MIXER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR C. CUMMINGS, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of WVaterloo, Blackhawk county, Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Concrete-Mixers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in concrete mixers, and the objects of my improvement are, first, to provide rotary mixing blades for a concrete mixer, of a novel and eflicient form; and second, to locate on one inner longitudinal wall of such a mixer a bracketed abutment o-r friction-plate secured therealong, impending over the blades, and close to their terminal points to aid the mixing operation in cooperation with said blades. These objects I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a concrete mixer of the open-trough type, and constructed according to my invention, with parts broken away to thereby disclose the interiorly-located rotary mixing-blades. Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation in detail of a pair of integrally-connected mixing blades, such as I use in intermediate positions within the mixing-casing, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section of one of said blades. Fig. 4 is a similar View of a pair of integrally-connected mixing blades, modifled in form to rotate in close proximity to the end walls of the mixing-casing, and Fig. 5 is a cross section of one of said blades.

Similar numerals of reference denote corre sponding parts throughout the several views.

The numeral 10 denotes the semi-cylindrical trough open at the top with its upper longitudinal edges bent obliquely upwardly at 13, and joined at their ends by like flanged out parts of the vertical end walls 11. The longitudinal upwardly directed sides of the trough have partially cut out parts 15, the parts 15 being bent outwardly and upwardly obliquely to provide relatively narrow and long horizontal longitudinal openings l4, extending nearly the whole length of the longitudinal parts of the trough near the bases of the upper Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 28, 1913.

Patented May 12, 1914. Serial No. 781,540.

flanged-out parts 13. The lower part of the trough, being semi-cylindrical, a squared shaft 23 is seated axially in said trough, and said shaft has sectional sleeves 24 mounted thereon, with the integrally connected mixing-blades 3 and 4t mounted fixedly on the shaft 23, bet-ween said sleeves, the sleeves serving as spacers for the blades. The ends of the said shaft, are with their sleeves rotatably mounted in bearing openings in the end walls 11 of the casing to project outwardly therefrom, and desired means for producing rotation in said shaft may be connected thereto, but not here shown.

I preferably employ in said mixer two forms of mixing blades, such as are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and Figs. 4: and 5. The form of the blade shown in Fig. 2, has a squared middle portion 1, having a square opening 2, adapting it to be fixedly seated on the shaft 23 between two spacing sleeves 24. Projecting in opposite directions from the part 1, and in the same plane therewith are integral outwardly diminishing parts 3 and i. The longitudinal edges of the parts 3 and 4 are flanged obliquely therefrom but the flanges 5 and 6 along said parts 3 and 4- on the same side are flanged to extend in the same direction, while the flanges 7 and 8 on the other side of such parts are flanged in the opposite direction.

Since the parts 3 and 4t are diminished outa wardly gradually to points, the flanged outparts 5 and 7 on the part 3, and theparts 6 and S on the part a form, with said parts 3 and 4:, blades diminished outwardly, but the parts with the flanges 5 and 7, and 6 and 8 are also truncated so as to make the outer portions diminished to and in the same points with the parts 3 and 4, thus giving them the spadiform shape. This type of blade is employed within the mixer at intermediate locations along the said shaft 23, but I use the other type of blades shown in Fig. 4:, at the ends of said shaft immediately abutting upon the inner walls of the plates 11. The blade shown in Figs. 4 and 5, resembles that shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with this exception that the flat parts 3 and 4 of each blade have each but one oblique flange, shown at 9 and 6 respectively, such flanges being shown on 0piii posite sides relative to each other, and projecting from the flat parts 3 and 4 toward the interior of the casing and away from the abutting end wall 11, so that the flat parts and 4- lie closely adjacent to said end wall. it will be observed that both types of blades are so constructed as to serve solely dashers or mixing-blades, and are not suitable for propelling material in the casing lengthwise therealong. The blades are preferably set upon said shaft 23 alternately at right angles to each other, as shown in, said Fig. 1, which subserves the best results in mixing.

The lower left-hand part 17 of the semicylindrical bottom of the casing is hinged at 18 to form a longitudinal outwardly swinging or drop-door, and which may be held in place and actuated by any suitable means not here shown. The casing part 10 has its lower partbent downwardly at 16 to form an oblique delivery-plate or chute, whose angle meets a longitudinal lower edge of said drop-door 17, and which is adapted to receive the materials therefrom when said door is swung open. The lowermost part of the end-plates 11 is flanged outwardly, and supported upon transverse beams 12.

Referring to said Fig. 1, I have shown scoured to the inner face of the upright part of one side of the trough 10, just above the drop-door 17, a bracket 21, whose upper edge coincides with the angle of the outwardly directed flange or shelf 15 on that side. Said bracket is bent inwardly to form an obliquely and downwardly directed shelf 20, which in turn, is bent downwardly to approach and be secured to said trough 10, with its latter part 19 formed on an arc of the cylinder, of which the bottom of the easing is a part so as to be supported concentrically about the shaft 23 and mixing blades 3-t, near the ends of said blades. As indic ated by the arrow in said figure, the mixing blades rotate upwardly past the areshaped part 19, and said part 19 thus serves to fill in the space between the ends of said blades and the upper part of the trough wall, so as to prevent a dead space there, and also to keep the materials together in the casing the blades move through it, to be thereby more efliciently stirred up and mixed in the casing. it is, therefore, not necessary to have a similar projecting part 19 secured on the opposite wall of the casing, since the mixing-blades descend at that side.

The unmixed materials are deposited within the casing, and water may be introduced through the longitudinal openings 14, which latter lie above the general level of the mixing-blades. When the materials are sutlioiently mixed, they may be discharged from the casing by means of lowering the drop-door 17.

Particular attention is called to the shapes of the mixing-blades on account of their spadiform outwardly diminishing type, which being drawn to points, permits them to deliver material freely from their ends without sticking, and also enabling them to handle the material more freely than if their ends were blunt, therefore, having a better dividing and mixing effect.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a concrete-mixer, a rotary mixingblade, formed with a middle portion lying in a plane at a right angle to the axis of rotation, said middle portion being gradually diminished outwardly to a point, and integral flanges on the longitudinal edges of said middle portion directed obliquely and oppositely outward from the plane thereof.

2. In a concrete-mixer, a rotary mixingblade, formed with a middle portion lying in a plane at a right angle to the axis of rotation, said middle portion being gradually diminished outwardly to a point, and integral flanges on the longitudinal edges of said middle portion directed obliquely and oppositely outward from the plane thereof, with the outer portions of said flanges gradually diminished outwardly to produce in conjunction with said middle portion a. triangular end to the blade.

3. in a concrete-mixer, a rotary mixingblade, having a middle portion provided with a central opening and with oppositelyprojecting parts each gradually diminished to a point, said middle portion lying in a plane set at a right angle to the axis of rotation, each edge of each of said diminished parts being bent obliquely thereto and 0ppositely therefrom, with the bent parts on the same sides of the blade bent in the same direction.

1. In a concrete-mixer, a rotary mixingblade having a middle portion provided with a central opening and with oppositelyprojecting parts each gradually diminished to a point, said middle portion lying in a plane set at a right angle to the axis of rotation, each edge of each diminished part being flanged outwardly obliquely with the flanges on each part projecting oppositely relatively to each other from the middle part, the flanges along one side of the middle part projecting oppositely from the flanges on the other side of the middle part, and the outer parts of the flanges being diminished toward their ends to form with the pointed middle parts therebetween, triangular extremities for the blades.

5. In a concretemixer, a casing having a semi-cylindrical lower part, a rotary shaft seated axially within said semi-cylindrical )art, and having projecting mixing-blades thereon, the casing extending upwardly ends only of the mixing-blades in close from said semi-cylindrical part, and a brackproximity to their extremities. 10 eted friction-plate secured longitudinally Signed atWVaterloo, Iowa, this 9th day of along the inner Wall of the upright part of July, 1913.

the casing along one side only, and arched EDGAR O. CUMMINGS.

over suitably to prolong the inner arc of the Witnesses:

concavity of the semi-cylindrical part of the W. H. BRITNN,

(using to overhang the upwardly-moving G. G. KENNEDY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

